Nova

It seemed like it took forever, but the Nova is finally back from the Paint Shop Prison. It was a thrash getting ready, but we made it to the 2001 Nova List Serve Gathering in Winfield KS with the car.

Mini-Tub Project Details

Since the car is in the paint shop getting a new paint job, it seemed like a good time to mini-tub it to get more clearance for the tires. Later on if I want to run a wider tire we'll have a lot more room. Here's some pics for those that are interested - some of them aren't very good as my camera battery was low, but you should be able to get some idea as to what is involved.

First the wheel wells had to be cut out. Here is a pic from the trunk of the left rear wheel well just after the start of the cut with a plasma torch.
This is a view of the right side as seen from inside the car. It's a huge increase in clearance over the stock wheel wells, right now the spring is the only restriction to the tire width. The tire that is on the car is a 225-15 on a 7" rim. Click on the picture for a bigger view.
Right side again, this time the view is from the trunk The metal part on the left hand side of the picture is the wheel well that was cut out and it's laying in the trunk. You can see the edge of the frame in this picture prior to narrowing it.
Now the frame has been notched and the clamp is showing the new location of the frame rail.
Here's another pic to show the increased clearance. Click on the picture for a closer view (bad picture but you can see it better).
Right side again, view from rear shackle.
Here's a picture of the right side frame rail just behind the axle showing the cut to increase the clearance. It will be moved in and plated up to retain it's strength.